Appendix of Job Descriptions

Appendix of Job Descriptions

Several of the institutions contacted provided job descriptions for positions in their Office of Institutional Research. The job descriptions from Calvin College and the University of San Diego seem the most relevant to our work at PLNU.

Calvin College provided:
Director of Assessment and Institutional Research
Director of Institutional and Enrollment Research (reports to the person above).

University of San Diego provided:
Executive Director of Institutional Research and Planning
Research and Planning Analyst (reports to the Director)
Research Analyst (reports to the Director)

CALVIN COLLEGE JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Director of Assessment and Institutional Research
Department: Office of the Provost
Reports to: The Provost
Group/Grade: Deans/Directors II, Grade 8
Status: Full-time, Exempt

SUMMARY
This position is responsible for implementing the student learning assessment program of the college, and works closely with the academic deans and the Assessment Committee and the Core Curriculum Committee to guide program review. Also responsible for providing information and analysis for planning, decision-making and accreditation.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Design and conduct college-wide assessments studies. Responds to the Core Curriculum Committee and the Assessment Committee to support the activities of these committees in assessing student learning outcomes across the college.
Help coordinate the assessment programs of each unit. Assist department and units design and administers assessment instruments as well as to analyze results. The director also coordinates such activities with a view toward integrating unit assessment activities with all-college activities and needs. Works closely with the Assessment Committee to carry out this function.
Collect, analyze and disseminate information about the college. Responsible for accurate and timely data for all entities engaged in assessment and planning. Responsible for the accuracy of official college statistics and for responding to request for date from both internal and external constituencies.
Conduct research to support long-term institutional planning and decision making. Conducts such research using a variety of means including the expertise of the Center for Social Research.
Provide support for the administration and analysis of the Instructional Assessment System (IAS).
Ensure the integrity of institutional data. This director is responsible for archiving important institutional data. The director also ensures that data collection, storage and dissemination is done in compliance with all state and federal standards. In this capacity, the director provides administrative support for the Institutional Review Board of the college.

FACULTY STATUS RESPONSIBILITIES
Appointment of administrative officers is accompanied by faculty membership in those cases in which the administrative office includes responsibilities for developing and implementing curricular policy and educational standards. Persons who hold administrative positions with faculty status are subject to the same expectations as the teaching faculty as follows:

Education, experience, and engagement in professional activity commensurate with the requirements and demands of the position.
Subscription to the forms of unity of the Reformed Churches.
Membership in good standing and active participant in the life, worship, and activities of a Christian Reformed church or any church in ecclesiastical fellowship with the Christian Reformed Church, as defined by Synod
Promotion of Christian education at all levels, including providing any children of school age with Christian schooling
Support of the Mission of Calvin College.

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, and individual must be able to person each essential duty (listed above) satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
This position requires a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) or equivalent; three to five years related experience and/or training; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Strong organizational and written communication and interpersonal skills required. Knowledge of computers and related software required.

COMPLEXITY
The position requires the ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Technical instructions are furnished in a variety of mathematical and diagram form. Deals with situations involving several abstract and concrete variables.

ACCOUNTABILITY
The position has independent authority to take actions and make decisions that will affect processes, policies and people throughout the organization and to the customers who are served.

DECISION MAKING/JUDGMENT
The position requires substantial latitude of independent action in establishing plans, policies and procedures within the functional area, including making decisions within the context of approved goals and budgets.

COMMUNCATION SKILLS
The position requires the ability to explain college policies in difficult situations, write and edit reports or technical documents, coordinate and assess the work of others, and activities requiring significant communication skills. Handles confidential information.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
The position requires frequent participation with people from various perspectives, and deals with items that may be controversial. Participants make decisions and solve problems through expertise, influence, persuasion and/or other interpersonal skills with infrequent supervision.

Position Description
Director of Institutional and Enrollment Research
Calvin College

Purpose of Position
The Director of Institutional and Enrollment Research serves as the primary information officer for the College and is specifically responsible for managing and coordinating all research efforts. This research is expected to provide assistance in the collection and analysis of data for assessment, strategic planning, program review, accreditation, pricing and trend analysis.

Reports To
Vice-President for Enrollment and External Relations

Major Responsibilities

Develop and implement a comprehensive enrollment research plan for the college including a readily available database of enrollment based research and institutional data.
Provide research in Admissions and Financial Aid such as prospect and applicant studies, scholarship competitiveness, enrollment projections and price sensitivity.
Perform student related studies on retention/attrition, satisfaction, institutional performance, graduation rate studies, and demographic profiles.
Collect, analyze and assist in interpreting data and information descriptive of Calvin College’s activities, its students, programs and management. This includes the production of an annual factbook to monitor institutional and strategic planning.
Coordinate official enrollment reporting (Day 10) for new and continuing students. Continually review and redesign the enrollment information provided to best meet the needs of the college community.
Interpret institutional data and research results for the Calvin community to improve understanding of the information available and to assist in applying that information in decision making.
Coordinate institutional reporting to internal and external agencies including IPEDS, HERI, and the Common Data Set (CDS).
Advise and support administrative divisions and academic departments on conducting institutional research and on disseminating research results through published reports.
Serve on the Enrollment Management and Retention Committees.

USD POSITION DESCRIPTION

PAY TITLE: Executive Director of Institutional Research and Planning
DEPARTMENT: President’s Office

ADMINISTRATION (Exempt) X STAFF (Non-Exempt)___

APPROVAL DATE:

GENERAL PURPOSE:

Supports institutional decision-making, planning, and reporting through the collection, analysis, interpretation, presentation, and distribution of relevant, timely, and accurate information.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED:

Works under the general guidance and direction of the President.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED:

Supervises a planning analyst, a research analyst, and student workers.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
The responsibilities described here are representative of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

20% Assists the President and the University’s executive-level management team with research and planning; directs and participates in the collection, analysis, and presentation of institutional and/or comparative data used to support and enhance policy formation and decision-making.

45% Designs and directs the provision of institutional data and analyses requested by campus administrators and campus committees for strategic planning, resource allocation, enrollment management, space management, fiscal management, institutional effectiveness, and outcomes assessment; consults with campus offices on survey design.

5% Supports the Strategic Initiatives Committee of the Board of Trustees; provides reports and analyses as requested.

5% Participates in planning for WASC accreditation and designing implementation strategies; provides institutional data for the “Required Data Exhibits.”

5% Develops comprehensive performance indicators to monitor USD’s strategic plan; establishes baseline measures and provides annual progress reports for the Board of Trustees.

5% Designs and directs the development and maintenance of cross-sectional and longitudinal databases to provide institutional reference data; works with Information Technology Services to develop data warehousing capability.

5% Monitors USD’s administrative databases to ensure that data are available for internal performance tracking and external reporting; works with administrative offices to develop solutions to meet new data reporting demands.

5% Directs the reporting of institutional data required by the U.S. Department of Education and accrediting agencies or requested by national, state, or local agencies; private sector firms; other educational institutions; college guidebooks; and other external collectors of university data. Assures that reports meet stated requirements and are consistent with current standard practices.

5% Stays current with new developments in institutional research and planning, establishes and maintains relationships with other institutions, participates in data exchanges, and conducts environmental scanning and comparative research as requested.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Ph.D. or Master’s degree from an accredited college or university
Thorough knowledge of higher education institutional research and planning practices
Demonstrated experience in working with large databases and statistical software
Demonstrated experience in assuring integrity in analysis and reporting
Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED:

Computer database, spreadsheet, reporting, statistical, and web software; telephone, fax, and other related office equipment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential function of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

The position requires the ability to sit, stand, walk, exercise hand and finger dexterity, visual focus, and articulate clearly using speech.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

The work environment is primarily in an office setting. The noise level can vary from quiet to moderate depending upon circumstances at any given time.

DRAFT USD POSITION DESCRIPTION

PAY TITLE: Research and Planning Analyst
DEPARTMENT: President’s Office

ADMINISTRATION (Exempt) X STAFF (Non-Exempt)___

APPROVAL DATE:

GENERAL PURPOSE:

Assists the Executive Director with the collection, analysis, interpretation, presentation, and distribution of relevant, timely, and accurate information for institutional decision-making, planning, and reporting.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED:

Works under the general guidance and direction of the Executive Director of Institutional Research and Planning.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED:

Supervises two or three student workers.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
The responsibilities described here are representative of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

30% Assists the Executive Director with research and planning; participates in the collection, analysis, and presentation of institutional and/or comparative data used to support and enhance policy formation and decision-making.

20% Assists in providing analyses requested by campus administrators and campus committees for strategic planning, resource allocation, enrollment management, space management, fiscal management, institutional effectiveness, and outcomes assessment; consults with campus offices on survey design.
20% Assists the Executive Director in identifying interdivisional policies, procedures, and processes needing review; creates project teams and provides team training as necessary to analyze each situation and recommend processes for change.

5% Documents, maps, and benchmarks current business processes, designs new practices, performs gap analyses, and creates new assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of change.

5% Assists departments to achieve their cooperative redesign goals by facilitating project meetings, data collection, process review and redesign, implementation of new practices, and monitoring recommended changes.

5% Conducts focus group meetings and project team meetings to gather qualitative data for the strategic planning process.

5% Assists in the design, development, and maintenance of the Institutional Research and Planning website as a vehicle for communication with the campus community.

5% Stays current with new developments in institutional research and planning, establishes and maintains relationships with other institutions, and conducts environmental scanning and comparative research as requested.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree (required) or Master’s degree (preferred) from an accredited college or university
Knowledge of strategic planning and business process redesign
Demonstrated experience in working with business process redesign tools
Demonstrated project management and interpersonal skills
Demonstrated experience in assuring integrity in analysis and reporting
Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED:

Computer spreadsheet, flow-charting, project management, reporting, and web software; telephone, fax, and other related office equipment.

The position requires the ability to sit, stand, walk, exercise hand and finger dexterity, visual focus, and articulate clearly using speech.

The work environment is primarily in an office setting. The noise level can vary from quiet to moderate depending upon circumstances at any given time.

USD POSITION DESCRIPTION

INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH & PLANNING

RESEARCH ANALYST

PAY TITLE:                            Research Analyst
DIVISION:                               President’s Office

ADMINISTRATION (Exempt) _X_ STAFF (Non-Exempt) ___

APPROVAL DATE:

GENERAL PURPOSE

The research analyst collects and normalizes data from a variety of sources, develops and maintains departmental databases, and conducts analyses to support institutional research and planning projects, survey responses for federal, state, and private agencies, and information requests from internal and external constituents.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED
Works under general guidance and direction of the Executive Director.

RESPONSIBILITIES
The responsibilities described are representative of those that must be met by the student to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
40%     Analyzes data from student records, human resources, financial aid, administration and finance, and additional sources.
25%     Prepares responses to surveys and requests for information sent to USD by outside organizations.
15%     Develops and maintains research databases for use in data analysis and tracking, including data cleaning and editing responsibilities.
10%     Publishes Online Fact Book and other historical institutional data on the department Web site.
5%     Produces graphs and tables for reports, presentations and publications.
5%     Documents programs, databases, and analyses. documents the data collection efforts to complete the surveys.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required skills and knowledge:

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
Demonstrated ability to conduct and interpret quantitative and qualitative data analyses.
Experience with analytical manipulation and interpretation of large databases.
Strong analytic and critical thinking skills.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to get along with a wide variety of people.
Strong organizational skills. Ability to prioritize workload and meet deadlines.
Ability to work with minimal supervision. Innovative self-starter.
Detail-oriented. Strong proofreading and grammar skills.
Computer literate in:
Microsoft Office Professional suite (MSAccess, MSExcel, MSWord, PowerPoint)
A statistical software package.
Ability to work in a confidential work environment.

Preferred skills and knowledge:

Computer literate in:
SPSS
Visual Basic
SQL
Knowledgeable in HTML and Web design software (preferably Dreamweaver)
Experience with higher education database systems (e.g., student records)

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED

Computer
Printer
Telephone
Fax
Copier
Computer data projector